As this Christmas season draws nearer with each passing day, I am reminded of my annual tirade about the commercialization of the holiday. As I am sure many of you have either voiced, experienced or felt this way at some point in your life, I am reminded of this daily, as the thoughts of gross materialism are never far from my mind.
One of the things I am trying to teach my children is that stuff is only stuff. It does not matter how much of it you have; only how much you want. I am a firm believer that money is not evil. How can it be? Money has no soul. It has no brain. It has no feelings. It cannot will itself to hurt someone or take from someone. It can only be used as a tool in the hands of the person who wields it.
I have often heard it said that what a person spends their money on is what they truly value. This is so true. I want to be a person who spends his money well. On helping others in a time of need. On providing food, shelter and water to people who do not have it. On creating a world that does not revolve around stuff, but the needs of people.
As Christmas approaches, I encourage you to take a step back and appreciate what you have before spending money for something you want. Teach your children to have compassion on those who are drinking disease-ridden water before buying that new Play Station. They say you can only appreciate what you have when it is gone. I hope this is not true. I pray that we will all remember what we have been blessed with while we have it, so we can share it with others.
I know this is a hard concept to appreciate in a world of “Black Friday’s” and “Cyber Mondays.” I, along with everyone else, am guilty of wanting more stuff. I would love to have many things, but I constantly have to remind myself that what I want is very rarely what I need.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas.
